Posted on Monday March 11, 2019

The wedding budget: Planning it right

Are you having trouble figuring out how to tackle your wedding plan? Is your Pinterest moodboard packed with photos of prohibitively expensive ceremonies? According to WeddingBells, the average price of a wedding in Canada is $30,717 (including the honeymoon and engagement ring), which makes it a significant outlay for many couples. But it is possible to say "I do" without going broke. Here are 12 tips to help you save.

1. Focus on the essentials. Do you really want (and need) a candy bar or a sangria pool?
2. Ask your friends and family to help you with different tasks, such as setting up the room or making the decorations. DIY is very popular! The shared time together makes for great memories.
3. Keep your family history alive by exchanging your grandparents? wedding rings.
4. Cut down on the number of guests and have an intimate wedding, with just immediate family and close friends.
5. Send your invitations by email to save on printing and postage. This will also make it easier for your guests to RSVP.
6. Switch out the reception hall for your backyard, your parents? backyard or a friend's restaurant. A place steeped in your life history is a better setting than even the chicest hotel.
7. Be your own DJ. Create a playlist with songs that get you dancing and let the music play on all night all.
8. Ask your piano-playing cousin or guitar-playing friend to perform your song during the ceremony, rather than hiring musicians. Personal connections are more meaningful than perfectly executed pieces.
9. Serve fewer courses at the dinner. This will also allow you to avoid the food waste that is so common at weddings.
10. Print the enlargements of your photographs yourself and just pay your photographer for the digital version.
11. Choose flowers that are in season or local plants: they cost less and they'll give your ceremony a unique cachet.
12. Rent the bride's maids' dresses and the groom's suit. They'll only be worn once, after all!

You can also start saving up (in advance) using a TFSA. A TFSA can be used to save money for personal projects throughout your lifetime, such as a wedding, a house or a honeymoon. You can withdraw the money whenever you like, with no tax consequences. Read our RRSPs and TFSAs brochure to find out more.

A good budget is your best ally when it comes to planning your wedding. Read the Canadian government's wedding budget worksheet for a good overview of your total budget. Look here for the FAQ sheet on weddings in New Brunswick to learn more about regulations related to marriage licences, celebrants and surnames.

Congratulations! Now, get planning!